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How to Design an Amazing Case Study

Creating a case study is tedious, but a task well worth doing: as it includes a proven, real-world example of your product’s success, it...

Creating a case study is tedious, but a task well worth doing: as it includes a proven, real-world example of your product’s success, it's much more effective than a conventional copy or a sales article. If you want more qualified leads, this the way to go.

However, having a successful case study presented as nothing more than a clutter of information won't get you far. Invest some time and make it presentable: coming up with a beautiful presentation can be the difference between landing a client and losing them due to inability to effectively communicate your message.

Elements of a successful case study

However, before you start creating a beautiful presentation, you have to make sure that there is a solid foundation for you to build on. If you strip your case study down to bare bones, you will be left with these five key elements.
1. The Overview
Also known as the executive summary of your case study should include short takeaways from all other sections: Main problem, solution overview as well as key results should be a part of this segment. The vast majority of potential clients won’t be going through the entire case study. What’s more, they will most likely just skim the overview and look for facts that may interest them. Write it only when you complete the case study so you can have a bird's eye view of the entire data.

2. The Challenge
This part is meant to provide a detailed description of the context that led to the creation of the project. The potential client should gain a complete understanding of the environmental factors and problems that you are supposed to solve. Usually, the challenge section consists of three parts:

Project background and description: covers timelines, budget, its limitations and the purpose of the job;

The problem: covers the context and the reason why project was started in the first place;

Goals and objectives: what you expect to achieve at the end of a project. Always keep in mind that goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant as well as time-bound. In other words: SMART.

Even though the core elements of this section are often included in the client brief, the best thing to do is get an insight through client meetings and conversation.

3. The Process
In this part, you will explain how you made it from the challenge to the solution. Elaborate everything: your preferred process, creative concept, and insight that led to key decisions. Including your research as well as your workflow can be a good idea: note all A/B tests, user research interviews, as well as key conclusions from brainstorming sessions. The fact that you’ve made some data-driven decisions will show your potential clients, that when going gets tough, you do not rely on your gut but facts.

4. The Solution
Present your work, present what you’ve come up with - mainly, provide potential clients with a sample of your work. Depending on your niche, different solutions can be presented in various ways: designers will be presenting their work visually, while copywriters writers will show off a couple of lines of text if that is all there is. No matter what kind of solution you present, having a strong, preferably data-driven argument for using it is of utmost importance. Otherwise, you might as well be saying that you just got lucky.

5. The Results
When it comes to results, it is all about the numbers. Depending on the type of case study, different qualitative and quantitative metrics can be determined as a measurement of success, but they should always address the objectives of The Challenge section. For example, a case study about booming digital marketing campaign will rely on KPIs such as “number of visits as well as visit duration increase” and “bounce rate decrease”. However, that only makes sense if the main challenge was to “increase visitor engagement”.

Making you case study presentation more effective

You’ve created a successful case study with all five essential elements. Now, let's see what you can do to help it stand out.

1. Create a case study that your ideal client would find irresistible
Before we start adding bells and whistles to the presentation, we have to make sure that your case study appeals to the right audience. For starters, choose the proper story to use as a case study:

It should be about a respectable (and reputable) client your ideal customer can identify with;

The client included in the case study should have a comprehensible knowledge about your product or service;

Numbers at the end of a study should show a fantastic outcome.

The more severe situation the client is in, higher the value of the case study. Instead of aiming for the top of the sales funnel, try to communicate with individuals who are much more familiar with your niche. Ultimately, you are persuading them that you are comfortable in the industry, that you know what they need, and you know how to achieve results.

2. Case study is a story after all
It is all about identification: all girls wanted to be princesses, and all boys wanted to be pilots and astronauts at one point in their lives. Why? Well, we read and listened to stories about them, and their life sounded pretty amazing. When it comes to your potential clients, it is the same thing: they want to repeat the success the company from case study has achieved. Even though you should follow the “five elements rule” mentioned above, by no means you should be rigid in your presentation.

Allow your potential customer to familiarise themselves with the client from the presentation: who are they, what are their goals and their needs, what brings them to you. Additionally, make sure that your case study has a beginning and an end that wraps things up, usually with specific results and client’s short testimonial.

3. Make it easy to read
While you can feel free to explore the style of storytelling, keep your post formatted:

Use headings for simpler scannability,

Use bullet points for better information sorting;

Use bold and italicized text to emphasize important phrases or quotes;

Include pictures (graphs, illustrations, screenshots, photographs), but only if they increase the overall value of the presentation.

Also, keep in mind that your case study, like any other post on your website, plays a vital role in SEO and additional formatting will only help improve SERP rating for specific keywords.

4. Complement written content with visual and vice versa
If you feel that particular sentence would make more sense as a pie-chart, just go for it. If you think that a specific screenshot is a bit confusing and could use a written explanation, it is probably a good idea to add a description. Even though it is essentially dull, data can be presented in a fun way: use illustrations, gifs, even short video content if it helps you get through to the client and achieve the desired outcome. Nowadays most presentations are done via websites, and platforms like Wordpress will allow you to handle all the content you want easily.

5. Do not be afraid to use testimonials
Nothing will get you more than the good ol’ word of mouth recommendation - and if an individual identifies with the client recommending you, better the chance of striking the deal. Considered by many to be an excellent tactic for boosting prospects, testimonials can play an essential role in the success of your case study. Keep in mind, however, that they will be most likely be ineffective if they lack:

A name of the testimonial giver;

A name of the company they work at and their position;

Their photograph;

A statement about what and how your product/service made all the difference, backed by some real numbers;

However, the best testimonials will be provided by your long-term customers who know your product or service inside and out.

6. Use actual numbers and specific strategies
Once again we come across the key (and the selling) point of every case study: what did you accomplish for your client and how did you manage to do it. Honestly, no one will hire you because of your narrative, your exceptional use of charts and graphs, or the technical aspect of your presentation. All clients want are results.

So when presenting your case study, make sure you go into detail. Make a claim and then back that claim with data (and numbers). After that, break down your strategy, and explain your tactics, so the potential client can grasp your workflow and understand your approach.

7. Go out of your way to accommodate all content tastes
Some people prefer quiet reading; others like listening to podcasts and audiobooks; and, of course, there are those who enjoy a good video.

We already mentioned that WordPress (and similar platforms) allows you to handle all kind of content on your website. If you can upload text, audio and video files, why not create several versions of the same case study in each of these formats? It may be a bit costly, but it is an investment and should be regarded as such.

To wrap it up

Even though it requires money, time and effort, a high-quality case study is a worthy investment - and as such it has to be protected. First of all, you need to protect it from “aging” (by keeping results up to date over the course of time) as well as from outside interference. One change can make a negative impact: for example, erasing one number and changing 50% into 5% may be easily overlooked, but can severely influence overall impression your case study has on the reader. If you are using WordPress, implement the series of WordPress protection measures. Otherwise, talk to your web developer about applying any of these changes for increased security.

Tyler Stavola, Digital Visibility Director, OWDT

Tyler Stavola is an SEO Practitioner, Digital Strategist, and experienced Digital Director at OWDT with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry.